Mommy Dragon Dearest!
by OtterFrog
Summary: An 'oops' happens with a dragon's egg. So now what? How are our heros supposed to cope with a newly born dragon? Will it hurt their credibility? Will Hector get jealous? Will Jeannline put the waif in the stewpot? Read and find out!
1. Chapter 1

Mommy Dragon Dearest!

Chapter One

The large purple dragon paused at the edge of the meadow, eyeing his foe. Lian-Chu used the pause to get a firmer grip on his sword and waited for the coming charge.

"Hit 'em with your left this time!" Gwizdo hollered from behind a large tree. "Do somethin' he doesn't expect!"

Lian-Chu shifted his sword to his left hand as Gwizdo instructed, just as the roaring beast charged. Giving a strong yell himself, the dragon hunter surged forward, only to trip on a stone the last minute and fall flat. The dragon thundered over and past him.

"Well," Gwizdo observed. "He didn't expect that, did he?"

"Nuh uh!" Hector shook his head vigorously in agreement.

"C'mon! Get up! Stop lyin' down on the job!" Gwizdo yelled out. "It's comin' back!"

Lian-Chu didn't respond, even when the dragon turned about and came plodding back. Catching sight of the prone still figure it paused, cocked his head in a confused manner, then bent down to sniff at this fallen foe.

"Ah….Lian-Chu? You..ok?" Gwizdo asked worriedly, his voice dropping in tone with each word. Hector's ears went flat and he nervously chewed at his front claws.

When the huge dragon nose was just inches away Lian-Chu suddenly sprang back to life and buried his sword in the middle of the dragon's forehead. The dragon's eyes crossed, it uttered a slight gurgle, then toppled over. The body jerked in a death spasm for a moment, then it went still and stiff. Even the tail was as straight as a ramrod.

"And anudder one bites the dust!" His companion crowed in triumph as he came out of his hiding spot. "Great ploy there, big guy! Ya even had ME fooled!"

"Heh heh Lian-Chu play dead! Now draggie dead! Whoopie!" Hector did his celebrating by climbing on top of the huge corpse and jumping on its belly.

"I took a chance. Dragons usually prefer live prey," Lian-Chu explained as he retrieved his sword. "I knew he would come closer."

"Yeah yeah but his teeth were closer too. Don't forget that! Let's not be takin' too many chances dere. Ok, that's that. Now let's go enjoy my favorite part, collectin' our pay!" Gwizdo dusted his hands as if he had done the actual deed and strutted off. Hector bounced from the dragon's upturned belly to its nose and then to the ground and followed.

As usual the payment didn't go quite as planned. The villagers had but a few copper coins and offered to barter the rest. So when the St George lifted off it was filled with sacks of potatoes, apples, three piglets, a calf and two chickens. Gwizdo was in a somewhat disgruntled mood.

"I tell ya, Lian-Chu. These days we'd better start askin' to see the pay in advance! I did NOT design and build the St George to be a flippin' Ark!"

"I am sure Jennyline will appreciate them though." Lian-Chu had the calf cradled in his arms as he scratched its head. The animal was in bliss. "When this little heifer grows up she'll be a fine milker, I am sure of it."

"Wonderful. So soon we'll find ourselves churning butter out in the yard next year." Gwizdo groused. "I'm lookin' forward to that. In the meantime, how are we gonna pay our bills? I would like to make enough to at least afford a new pair of pants. Look at this!" He tugged at his pantleg. " Even the patches' patches has patches!"

"I could knit you a new pair of…" Lian-Chu started to offer but Gwizdo waved him off.

"I'm not the tights-type kind of guy. Thanks but I prefer a bit of room to move around in." he sighed.

Hector looked down at his own blue fur and thought how lucky he was to never have to even consider clothes. "Gizdo should have fur. Most simple, easy. No wear clothes!"

"It's not like I have a choice in the matter but if I did and it turned out like yours I'd shave it all off in an instant!"

Hector's eyes narrowed. "What wrong wit' blue fur? Is nice and warm! Covers all! Pretty too!"

"Oh nothing', it's just that I think having one moth-eaten furball in the team is quite enough."

"Moths no eat me! Me eat moths!"

"Mebbe if you combed it once in a….Hey!" Gwizdo jerked back the control stick to send the St George into a sideways dive, narrowly missing a large bulbous form zooming up past him. "Geez! What WAS that!"

Lian-Chu raised a hand to shield his eyes as he gazed after the missile. "I believe it was a dragon."

"Well of –course- it was a dragon! What else would be flyin' up around here besides us? Blasted things think they own the skies."

"Dwaggies do!" Hector put in. "Flies more, better than birdies!"

"Yeah well…" Gwizdo was about to retort when they all heard a loud snap coming from above them. They froze then looked slowly upwards. The force of the unexpected climb had stressed one of the propellers and it had sheered off. Only half of it remained, which did not give enough power with such a load. The St George began to go down. Thankfully it went slowly, enough so Gwizdo could guide it in to the nearest island and the end result was only a slight bone-jarring thump. After the landing they remained seated, trying to regain their composure. It had been a near thing.

And it only made Gwizdo's mood even more sour. "Great! Just flippin' great! Now we have to take the time to find some wood strong enough to carve into a replacement blade. In the meantime all the good dragon jobs will be taken by somebody else! Why does this always happen to us? Why can't some other slob get the same bad luck as we do?" he ended his tirade by giving the downed airship a swift kick, which did nothing more than to bruise his foot. "Ow! Blast it!"

Lian-Chu was more optimistic. "We made it down safely and there are the woods. It shouldn't be too hard to find a piece to use." So saying he drew out his blade and walked over to the trees edge.

"Yeah yeah. Well, you go do that. In the meantime I'm fixin' something to eat." Gwizdo started to root through the bags and discovered the piglets munching on the contents of the apple sack. "Hey! Get outta dere! That's not for you! Get back in your crate."

Hector chuckled at Gwizdo's shuffling of their bounty and decided to explore the small island. It was clear nothing beyond the trees and few birds lived on it; no large animal could manage to eke out a living on the area so it should be safe. He snuffled through the underbrush and discovered a few berry bushes, the bounty of which he quickly devoured. Rocks and logs didn't furnish anything else edible and he was about to turn back when he poked his head through a bush and found himself staring into the discarded nest of a dragon. He was about to pull back in alarm when he saw the cracked eggshells about. "Oooh babies come. Babies go! All crack crack!" He picked up one of the shells and nibbled on it. While it did provide a satisfying crunch the pieces were just too sharp to swallow. He tossed it away and was about to leave when he caught sight on one egg still intact. "Ooooo eggers for snacks!" he gloated. He picked up the canatlope-sized prize and made his way back to the others.

Lian-Chu was seated on a large rock steadily cutting a new propeller from the log he had chosen. Gwizdo, having eaten his snack, was lying back in the shade of the St George, his hands pillowing his head and his helmet over his eyes as he snoozed. Hector shuffled up proudly with his prize.

"Hey! Looky looky! Me find egger! Cook scrambled snack!"

"Hmm?" The large man looked up. "Hector, that doesn't look like a bird's egg."

"Eh, no." the blue dragon admitted. "No birdy, draggie. Draggie nest back there, but mommy, babies all gone. Leave this one. Rotten mebbe?"

"Let me see that." Lian-Chu picked up the orb and studied the surface, then gently shook it. "It seems a bit heavy for a rotten egg and it doesn't stink. It sometimes happens that an egg will be late in hatching. The mother can't risk her other young in waiting. Poor little thing."

"Huh? Hm, what?" Gwizdo partially sat up and pulled back his helmet to look over at them sleepily. "Now what? Haven't you got that thing carved out yet?"

"Hector found a dragon's egg." Lian-Chu held it up to show him. Gwizdo was not impressed.

"Well whoopee for Hector. Mebbe if he sits on it he can hatch it. Now how about we get back to the carving?" He slumped back and replaced his helmet.

Lian-Chu shrugged, handed the egg back to Hector and resumed cutting the wood with his sword. Hector studied his prize again. "Hmmm, mebbe taste?" He licked it, then tried chewing on the surface. Being smooth and round his teeth couldn't grip anywhere. "Hmph. Hard eggers!" He threw it to the ground and looked at it. There was no change in the shell. He picked it up and threw it down again. Still no result. "Grrrr!" The blue dragon picked up a small rock and hammered on the surface. The only thing that happened was the clacking noise annoying Gwizdo.

"Hector. Whatever you're doing, stop it!"

"Twyin' cwack egg!" Hector explained.

"Yeah, well try cracking it a little quieter."

Hector glared at the egg resting innocently in the grass, then started to jump up and down on it. "Grr! Cwack, eggers! Cwack!"

Gwizdo didn't bother to expend the energy to sit up but he did lift the edge of his helmet up to peer out from under in annoyance. "Hector! Knock it off!"

"Eggers no cwack!" Hector complained, holding it out in front of him.

Gwizdo shut his eyes and heaved a deep suffering sigh. "Look, if I crack it for you, will you then be quiet?"

Hector nodded his head so hard his ears bobbed about. "Yes! Yes! Me be quiet!"

The small pilot made a big deal of getting up from his comfortable resting spot and walked over. "Give it here."

Hector eagerly held it out. Gwizdo took it and looked at it closely. "You wanna eat this thing? Well, there's no accounting for taste, I suppose." He rapped the surface with the knuckles of one hand and listened at the resulting sound. "Well, it's not hollow anyway. But if this turns out to be a stinker I'll throw both it and you over the side of this island, got it?" he warned.

Hector wasn't the least bit worried. "Cwack eggers!" he urged.

Gwizdo looked about for a bigger rock than what Hector had used but before he could locate one he gave a sudden start and stared at the egg in his hand. "What th…it moved!"

Lian-Chu looked up with interest. "Is it hatching?"

"I don't know if it's hatching, growing or doing the Mamba but it moved!" Gwizdo peered at it suspiciously. He shook it, daring it to repeat itself. It did. "Yes, there's sumthin' alive in dere!" The pilot held it out with both hands back to Hector. "here, you take it, you found the darn thing!"

The blue dragon backed away. "Me no want baby draggie! Me just want eggers!"

"You started all this. Take it back!"

"Nu nuu! Trow it over side! No baby draggie!"

"You take this or I'll shove it down your measly little throat!" Gwizdo threatened. He stepped forward to carry out the actions when the egg gave a sudden 'crack' and split apart. Gwizdo yelped as the contents spilled out onto the ground in front of him. "Yeeks! It's slimey! Yuck!"

Hector's eyes grew big. "Oooooh, looky looky! Baby draggie!" he pointed down.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Gwizdo looked down at the grayish lump that had fallen from the cracked eggshell he still held. As dragons go he couldn't think of any that could be considered even slightly as pretty but this looked liked a badly carved potato. As he stared at the thing it raised its head up and opened its eyes. They were huge eyes, bright red with yellow pupils and they stared fixedly into his own. They did nothing to improve the rest of the creature. The eyes blinked as it swayed a bit on its Chihuahua-sized body, then it opened its beaked mouth to utter a guttery chirr up at the small human. "Rraarrrrrrr!"

"Ergh! That's just…just..ugly!" Gwizdo took a step backwards. When he did the newly hatched dragon launched itself at him and grasped the front of his shirt. Gwizdo, of course, freaked.

"AAAHHHHHHH! GETTITOFFME! GETITOFFME!" he howled as he jumped up and down pulling at the creature. Jumping didn't dislodge it so he started running about in circles. "YAAHHHH! LIAN-CHU! HELP!"

Hector couldn't help it, he collapsed on the ground laughing his head off. Lian-Chu stood there, not sure whether to try to grab the creature or grab Gwizdo before he fell off the island. "I don't think he can hurt you. After all, he's just a hatchling."

"I don'tcareIdon'tcareIdon'tcare! Make him let go!" Gwizdo stopped his running to concentrate on pulling. The small dragon squawked in dismay as its middle was being stretched from its feet. "Get him OFF!"

Lian-Chu walked over and gently tugged at the dragon. It only squawked louder and buried its head in Gwizdo's collar.

"Get him off!" Gwizdo growled again. "I never wanted a dragon to be a fashion accessory! Unless its dead and I just have the skin!" At his voice the hatchling looked up in his face and uttered the chirr again. "Oh shut up."

"Gwizdo, I think we may have a problem here."

"I know that! You think I haven't noticed a dragon glued to my shirt?"

"No, I mean, it is a hatchling."

"I know that too. I was the one holding the egg, remember?" Gwizdo was trying very hard to hold in his temper. "What other news do you want to give me that I haven't observed as of yet?"

"I believe it has imprinted on you."

"If 'imprint' means 'glued on' I know that too. Now get it OFF!" Once again Gwizdo grasped the dragonet's middle and tugged at it. Once again the little hatchling squawked.

"Baby dragons look to the first living thing they see when they hatch as their mother." Lian-Chu informed him. "In this case, it saw you."

"Huh? Wha…? Oh no! Oh no no no no no! No and NO! I am NOT going to be a mommy to this…this…lump!" He looked down at the creature. "You hear me? I am NOT your mommy! Get lost!"

The baby dragon reached up and tenderly rubbed its cheek against his. Gwizdo tried to jerk back but only succeeded in throwing himself off balance and falling down on his rear. Hector, who had slowed his laughter to a snicker, burst out once more. Gwizdo sat and fumed.

"Look," he said in a forced reasonable tone. "We already HAVE a dragon so the position has been filled! Why don't you just crawl off in the woods and find your real mom?"

Lian-Chu shook his head. "He wouldn't recognize anything else but you now. You'll have to take care of him."

"I'm NOT being a mommy to a dragon!" Gwizdo struggled to his feet. "All I want you to do is get him to let go of me, then I'll find a nice big rock and our troubles will be over."

"Gwizdo! You cannot be serious!"

"Oh I am. I am VERY serious! Now make him let go!"

Lian-Chu took a closer look at the clingy dragon. "Ah. It is a Geckorian Dragon!"

"Wonderful. Now let me make it a Geckorian corpse!"

"Even I cannot get it off. Geckorian Dragons have powerful sticky toe pads. Once they catch hold of something they won't release it until they want to. See?" The large dragon hunter pointed out the over-sized feet that did indeed, have over-sized pads at the end of each toe. "They are usually found climbing on rocky cliffs and mountains."

"If you can dispense with the biology lesson…" Gwizdo growled.

"No, I will not aid in the destruction of a helpless infant."

"'Helpless infant'! Lian-Chu! It. Is. A. Dragon! We hunt dragons! We kill dragons. Remember?"

"Grown dragons. Ones that can defend themselves. I will not help to destroy a helpless waif."

Gwizdo heaved a deep sigh. "So now what? I'm to go through the next few weeks with this ugly thing hanging off my shirt? You realize my social life, such as it is, will suffer? I've had pimple prettier than this thing!"

"It should only be for a few days. Hatchlings soon get strong enough to follow their mother around. It's only when they first hatch do they climb on and cling to the female."

Gwizdo wasn't paying much attention to Lian-Chu as he pondered how to rid himself of this problem. "Hmm, if I take off my shirt then it'll be easy to dump him and then crack him with the rock. Ok." He took off his helmet then shrugged his shirt up and over his head. He shook his wild mop of brown hair and started to toss his shirt to the ground but before he could do so the hatchling gave a big squawk of dismay and leaped from the discarded clothing to his bare chest. The small pilot once again gave a loud yelp. "Gaahh! It's got cold feet!"

Lian-Chu gave a small smile as Hector begged for mercy. "Pwease! No more make me laugh! Sides hurt! Bwah ha ha ha ha haaaaaa! Gizdo too funnies wit baby draggie!"

"I'm so glad one of us is amused." Gwizdo said through gritted teeth. "Ok, I've had enough of this! If you two won't help me I guess I gotta help myself!"

He searched about until he found a stout short stick. "All right you little parasite! Here's where you get off!" he raised the stick to whack his burden on the head when it looked up at him once more. Large trusting red eyes gazed into his own then it nuzzled against his chest making purring noises. The stick in Gwizdo's hand shook. It lowered but then he gritted his teeth and raised it again. "Ah no ya don't! I'm not gonna give in! I'm gonna…just…whack….uh."

The little dragon had curled its body up as much as it could and then it tucked its head under one of its forelimbs. Deep breathing could then be heard. It had fallen asleep.

The stick fell to the ground and Gwizdo's shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Great. Just great. All I wanted this morning was to eat breakfast, find a dragon, kill it, get paid and then have the rest of the week off. Instead I turn around and…" he looked down at the curled sleeping dragon stuck to his chest again and sighed. "…I'm a mommy."

"Awwwww, 'Mommy Gizdo'!" Hector looked over with a sappy expression as Gwizdo snatched up his shirt. "Be my mommy too?" he asked as he batted his eyes. The pilot retrieved the stick to throw it at him as he struggled to get dressed again.

He frowned at the strange lump in front. "I look like I'm trying to smuggle a potato. I can't look like this in public! How long do I have to carry this around?"

"Ummm." Lian-Chu rubbed his chin. "For only about a week, I believe."

"A WEEK!" Gwizdo was aghast. "I can't accept any job offers with THIS hanging about! What sort of client would give us any credibility! 'Oh sure, Sir Whatever. We'll be glad to help you out with your dragon problem. Oh and don't notice this thing I've got stuck to my chest like a TERMINAL TUMOR! Pay it no mind!' Yeah. That'll work just grand!" He snatched up his helmet and stalked over to the St George. "You got that blasted propeller done yet!"

Lian-Chu and Hector looked at each other, then followed. The St George was quickly repaied and they took off once more for the inn.

They all were silent for the next half hour, Hector dutifully providing the pedal power to the blades and Lian-Chu carefully knitting. He could still hear the low growling complaints Gwizdo was muttering under his breath. He did feel a bit sorry but couldn't also help feeling amused by it all. Of all people to end up raising a baby dragon! The only thing that would have been worse was if it had been the entire clutch!

The silence was broken by a sudden startled yelp from Gwizdo. "Hey! Stop moving around in there! You're…hee hee!..tickling! Stop it!"

The shape of the dragon infant's head was moving back and forth from inside his shirt as it tried to make sense of the sudden darkness it had found itself in. It began to utter a sharp keening whine.

"Oh geeze! Do I have ta put up with this as well?" Gwizdo groused.

"I think it's scared. It cannot see anything under your shirt." was Lian-Chu's observance.

Gwizdo gritted his teeth. "Grr-rate. Just peachy. It's not bad enough I got a baby dragon but I hafta get one that's afraid of the dark!" With a sudden jerk he pulled his shirttail out from under his belt and up over the dragon. It blinked, looked up at him and chirred. "Happy now?"

"What Mommy Gizdo gon' name it?" Hector grinned.

"You call me that one more time and I'm gonna name you History! I'm not gonna give this stupid thing a name! It's like naming a wart!"

"Ah," Hector nodded. "Wart. Hmm." He thought it over and gave a nod. "Is good name. Wart!"

"It does seem to suit it," Lian-Chu agreed.

Neither approvals helped Gwizdo's temper. "Nice of you to agree. I'll be sure to emboss it on the birth certificate when we get back to the inn!"

Thinking of the inn made him groan and slap his forehead. "Oh man! How am I gonna sneak this thing past Jeanneline? She barely tolerates Hector!"

"We'll just come in the back way." Lian-Chu said calmly.

"Yeah yeah sure. She'll be watching all the doors and windows to pounce on us like a rabid hawk for whatever money we got. If she sees this thing she'll never let me live it down! No, I just gotta get rid of it as soon as possible! Hey! Now what's the matter with you?" he snapped at the small creature who had just started to utter a sobbing whine. "You have to use the bathroom or something? Hey, you pee on me and I'll…"

"I believe it is hungry. You haven't fed it yet."

"And I wasn't going to! Let it starve. Starve, dry up and fall off!"

The whine grew into a sharp keen and everyone winced. Gwizdo couldn't cover both his ears as the others did as he had to keep control of the flying machine so he quickly gave in.

"Ok! Ok! Hand me some food, a sandwich, apple, even one of the pigs! Just hand me something to make it shut up!"

He snatched the food Lian-Chu handed him and shoved it in the dragonet's face. "Ok, here. Shut your mouth and eat!"

"How he do dat?" Hector wondered. "Shut mout' and eat?"

"You just shut up and pedal! Well, c'mon! I got you some food! Eat it!" He shoved the food against the baby's mouth again but all it did was look up at him in bewilderment. "Look, you hungry or not?"

"That is not how a mother dragon feeds her young."

"I know, it's not normal for a dragon to feed its brats sandwiches but I'm not gonna go around diggin' up worms or whatever it eats!"

"A mother dragon pre-chews the food before she feeds them."

Gwizdo gave Lian-Chu a long slow look. "You're telling me I have to chew this up and then spit it in his mouth?"

Lian-Chu nodded.

Gwizdo's shoulders slumped. "This just ain't my day." He looked at the sandwich, then at the dragonet who stared back expectingly. "Yeeech. You'd think they would have come up with a better method." He bit off a small corner of the sandwich, chewed it quickly then paused. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and lowered his head to the infant. He quickly coughed it out as the baby made a sudden lunge upwards. Startled, he jerked back on the control and sent the St George into a steep climb. "Yeeeaaaawww!" He quickly regained control as his two companions snatched at the sides to keep from falling out. "He tried to BITE MY NOSE OFF!"

"Nonsense, he just wanted the food." Lian-Chu spoke as steadily as if he hadn't almost plummeted out of the machine to the far depths below. The keening began again. "And Wart is still hungry."

"Why couldn't it have been you who got the egg at that precise moment?" Gwizdo bit down on the sandwich with far more force than needed while Wart looked up with adoring eyes as he awaited his meal.


End file.
